LOS ANGELES — A young Filipino-American in Los Angeles has launched Flipstop, a free smartphone app that beautifully displays the nearest Filipino establishments to users based on their current location.

Mick Riego, creator of the app, came up with the idea when he first moved to Los Angeles from New York City in 2013 and found it challenging to discover new Filipino restaurants to try.

Riego has since expanded the idea for the app to include discovery not only of Filipino restaurants, but of all other types of establishments catering to Filipinos, including bakeshops, grocery stores, hair salons, car mechanics, allergists, dentists, caterers, skin care, karaoke bars, car dealerships, photographers, wedding planners, DJ’s, veterinarians, real estate agents, Filipino schools, concerts and comedy events, non-profit community groups, online retailers, notable Filipino personalities, vloggers, bloggers, Filipino movers and shakers, and much more — all able to be found efficiently in just one app.

Flipstop works by displaying a scrolling grid of eye-catching “tiles” that are arranged based on what’s nearest from the user’s current location.

To appear on the app, a Filipino establishment simply creates a free account at app.myflipstop.com to upload its business contact information, description, specialties, operating hours and images.

Upon completion, their tile will instantly appear on the app and they will have the ability to see how many people view and interact with their tile through their dashboard.

The app’s landing screen; search filters; “Expanded View.”

There are already more than 2,000 Filipino businesses, community groups and notable personalities that appear on the app, and Riego hopes many more Filipino establishments will put themselves on the app so it can be the one stop for finding everything Filipino nationwide.

All Filipino establishments found on Flipstop benefit through free exposure, and it is particularly beneficial for those businesses without a website, as their tile on the app can serve as their first digital presence with little to no effort required.

Filipino businesses on the app are also able to see and measure all the interactions users have with their tiles, including how many people see their tile, open their tile, share their tile, “Bucket List” their tile, call their establishment, get directions to their location and more.

“Coverage of the Filipino food movement in mainstream media has been fantastic for all of us,” said Riego.

“Yet there are many creative Filipino entrepreneurs in a variety of other industries providing great products and services, too. Our mission is to help shine a light on them by providing a single, innovative platform where they can easily be found.”

Riego emphasized that Flipstop is not only for Filipino establishments or business owners per se; any type of business who wishes to reach a Filipino audience should be found on the platform, as well.

A couple of Flipstop’s unique features include:

• Bucket List — the app sends a reminder alert to the user’s phone or smart watch when she gets within a mile of a business that’s in her “Bucket List”

• Friends — users can add friends on Flipstop and can chat and easily share tiles with each other

Forthcoming features include: the ability to send money to relatives overseas and a feature dubbed “Love Life,” which aims to help single Filipinos find their future significant other through the app.

Flipstop is free to download from the App Store and works across the entire United States.

It will roll out in Canada, Australia, the Middle East and Europe in the coming months and will become available to Android users in the coming weeks. Stay up-to-date by following our blog at https://www.flipstop.it/blog

About Flipstop

Flipstop is a digital affinity marketing platform for the Filipino diaspora with a freemium model.

Filipino establishments uploading their information and images can choose a Basic Tile, which provides exposure on the app for FREE FOREVER or they can choose a premium Smart Tile, which provides more features.

Non-profit Filipino community groups (including professional associations, Fil-Am Chambers of Commerce, foundations, charities, student associations and all 501(c)(3) organizations) enjoy a free Smart Tile for life.